Guest Blogger: Jose Corona, New Equity-Driven Growth Model

Jose Corona, CEO Inner City Advisors,Tanya Scott, Founder of Ed Support Services and Alejandro Velez, Founder of Back To The Roots

Written By Jose Corona

With the imperative to reduce inequality and restore local economic growth, Inner City Advisors (ICA) is accelerating the impact economy with an innovative, equity-driven growth model that’s successfully growing local, small businesses, creating good jobs and generating equity for inner city residents with high barriers to employment.

ICA is a San Francisco Bay Area based nonprofit that selects, manages and invests in high-impact entrepreneurs in order to create good jobs and equity for inner city residents. We provide high quality services to help Bay Area entrepreneurs grow their businesses and make a positive impact on the people they employ, the communities where they operate and the world.

On May 23, 2012 at 5PM at the historic Oakland Fox Theater, ICA will convene 1500 of the Bay Area’s most diverse and innovative entrepreneurs, community, philanthropic, business and local political leaders at its ALL IN 2012 event to dramatically increase our collective investment in the local small businesses that are creating good jobs and equitable growth in our communities.

ALL IN 2012 also showcases the release of ICA’s 2012 Agenda for Action, highlighting the organization’s impact on the growth of Bay Area small businesses, the creation of 2,445 good jobs—60% of which are held by women, 68% held by minorities—and the generation of $111 million in wages for local residents of the San Francisco Bay Area. The Agenda for Action provides compelling evidence for how to build a better future and an equitable economy that works for all citizens.

We know that a new economic development strategy is needed in these difficult times. In order to sustain our nation’s growth and prosperity, all citizens, young and adult alike, must be incorporated into an economic model that embraces our country’s changing demographics, and ensures investment in future generations.

By bringing people together who are passionate about building small business as well as thriving communities we’ve seen our model for job creation work. ICA has leveraged its partnerships to increase the size and strength of our entrepreneurial support ecosystem, mobilizing government, private business, nonprofits and the public to work in concert towards supporting entrepreneurs and creating good jobs.

Our ecosystem is our greatest asset. It brings like-minded entrepreneurs, advisors, investors, corporate partners and small businesses together to deliver a high quality of service as well as added value for all members of our network. Today, an unparalleled network of people are invested in the ICA mission but it is time to invest more resources and dramatically increase our impact. By expanding our model, we will build healthy communities that nurture families, making it possible for all residents, regardless of their socioeconomic status, to have equal access to good jobs and wealth.

Our impact means nothing if it does not inspire an “all in” investment that creates the conditions for the next generation to prosper. We must act now and make bigger investments in public schools, higher education, workforce development, and quality job creation so that every resident can co-create and prosper from economic growth. This is not just a matter of social equity. Our national competitiveness and security hinge upon our ability to prepare tomorrow’s workers—especially our youth—for the good jobs we’re creating today.

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American Graduate is a public media initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to help local communities across America find solutions to address the dropout crisis. The initiative builds on public media’s long-standing commitment to education by convening conversations and strengthening partnerships between public radio and television stations and local schools, businesses and community organizations to help students stay on the path to a high school diploma.